After All
by cranberryfields
Summary: Sasuke's been murdered. Well almost. The police say it's a suicide attempt but Kiba, Naruto, and Shikamaru know better. The only problem is, Sasuke can't remember anything about what happened. There are four prime suspects that either have something to gain from him dying or feel that they've been wronged by him in some way. It's up to the boys to figure out whodunnit. College!AU


**A/N:** I really wanted to write a murderish mystery after watching way too much detective shows. Hope you all like! Rated M for language and darkish themes as the story continues.

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Naruto or any of the characters in this story. Only the idea.

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He wasn't dead, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a mystery that needed to be solved.

The police said it was clear that this was a suicide attempt gone wrong, or right depending on how you looked at it. There was no sign of a struggle, and his history with depression made it a pretty clear case. Not only that, but the angry red lines neatly carved down his arm was a sure sign of a suicide attempt.

His friends weren't fooled, though. There was no way Sasuke would try and take his own life. Sure he would joke around about it sometimes whenever his parents called to brag about his older brother, but the Sasuke they knew had something to live for. Of course, as they tried to explain that to the officers, they were waved away and told to leave the detective work to the professionals.

That was over an hour ago. The group of friends had been standing in Sasuke's room, not saying a word. All they could picture was his lifeless body lying in the middle of the room. Shikamaru was the one who found Sasuke, his wrist bleeding and a small pocket knife and a bottle of pills lying next to him. He stood frozen to the spot, unable to call out for help. He slowly fell to his knees and held Sasuke while rocking back and forth until Kiba walked by their room and started screaming for help.

Less than an hour later, the police and paramedics had arrived, and luckily Sasuke was still alive, barely. He was still unconscious, but at least he would be alright. His brother had been called and was currently on his way to the hospital.

It seemed like the Uchiha family had hit a bought of bad luck recently. First, Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha were in a car accident, and now Sasuke was on his way to the hospital to join them. It just goes to show how precious life truly is.

"I just got your message, is he alright?" Sakura came running into the room, frantically looking at each of the three boys waiting for someone to answer her.

Naruto was the first to move and wrapped his arms around her. He nuzzled his head into her hair and let out a small sigh. Sakura slowly pulled back from him and looked into his eyes, searching for some kind of answer.

"Yeah, he'll be fine."

"Well, shouldn't we go down to the hospital and check on him?" Sakura said, heading towards the door, "why are you just standing there?"

Finally, the other two boys were woken out of their trance, and they looked over at Sakura. Shikamaru shook his head and wiped away a tear that was threatening to fall from his eye.

Before he could say anything, Kiba pounded his fist against the dresser. "Dammit, something isn't right about this. "

Sakura turned to face him, her eyes wide with fear. "Wha-what are you talking about?"

Naruto let out a forced laugh and scratched the back of his head. It was clear there was something he didn't want Sakura to know. "Kiba's just in shock, you know him."

He refused to make direct eye contact with her and slowly started pushing her out of the room. "We'll meet you there, Sakura."

"Ok, but I-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Naruto shut the door in her face and faced the other three boys in the room.

"What was that about Naruto?"

Shikamaru, understanding why Naruto didn't want Kiba to say anything else while Sakura was there, let out a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"It's possible that she had something to do with this, you idiot."

"Little miss prim and proper?" Kiba shook his head in disbelief. "She couldn't hurt a fly even if she wanted to."

Naruto smacked the back of Kiba's head. "Don't be an idiot!"

"Naruto's right. If the cops won't take this seriously, then we have to. Everyone's a suspect."

Kiba, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Naruto, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. But why her? What would she have to gain out of him dying?"

Shikamaru began pacing back and forth in the small room while stroking his chin. What did Sakura have to gain if Sasuke died? After another moment, he let out a small chuckle. "Sasuke did date the crazy type. Let's not forget, Karin."

Naruto shuddered at the mention of her name. "Heck, maybe she's the one that did it."

"Yeah, I don't know. Let's head to the hospital. Hopefully, Sasuke's up by now."

Kiba, Naruto, and Shikamaru gathered up their things and made their way to the hospital. The drive there was a long and silent one, but each of them had the same thing on their mind, who would want Sasuke dead?

After they made their way to the front desk of the hospital and got Sasuke's room number, they ran towards his room. Maybe he was well enough to tell them what happened.

They bumped into Itachi and Sakura as they barged into the room and whispered their apologies as they stood by Sasuke's bed.

His eyes were closed, but they could tell he was awake. Naruto looked down on Sasuke and noticed the bandages wrapped tightly around his wrist. Before this moment, he kept telling himself that there was no way Sasuke would do this to himself, but what if he did? Was he delusional in hoping that someone else did this?

Kiba lightly bumped Naruto's arm to get his attention. "Dude, you ok?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine."

Naruto continued looking at Sasuke, willing his eyes to open. He didn't want to bother him, but he desperately needed to know the truth.

As if he prayers has been answered, Sasuke's eyes slowly started to flutter open, and he glanced between Kiba, Naruto, and Shikamaru before sitting up.

"Who-who're you guys?" His voice sounded weak and low.

Kiba, Naruto, and Shikamaru quickly glanced at one another before focusing their attention back on Sasuke.

"Haha, not funny."

Sasuke gave Kiba a questioning look before clearing his throat. "I don't remember who you are."


End file.
